The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Presently there is a growing interest in monitoring border areas, for example, the geographic border between the United States and Mexico. Cost effective monitoring of the perimeter of an important structure, for example a military facility, a bridge, power generating station, water treatment station, etc., is also increasing in interest.
Presently available monitoring systems have typically been somewhat costly to implement and/or to operate, or have suffered from one or more other drawbacks. For example, monitoring operations performed by individuals traversing a region by ground vehicles or by airborne vehicles can be quite costly. Attempts at reducing the operating or implementation costs for a monitoring station have sometimes involved the use of a plurality of terrestrially mounted cameras. However, such cameras often need to be mounted on towers or elevated platforms, and once mounted, may be difficult to inspect and/or repair. For monitoring large geographic areas, sometimes hundreds or more cameras are required to fully image the area in question. And the optical image provided by a camera can be significantly adversely affected by environmental conditions such as rain, fog, snow, etc.
Other attempts at implementing monitoring systems have involved obtaining image data from one or more cameras or optical sensors located on a flying airborne platform. The electronic image data obtained by equipment on the airborne mobile platform is relayed via RF signals, or via a transponded satellite link, to electronic equipment at a ground based control station. The image data is processed at the ground station and used by individuals charged with managing the monitoring operation. As will be appreciated, this type of system involves a very significant cost, both in its initial implementation and in its on-going operations. Typically large amounts of data need to be up-linked to the selected satellite and then down-linked from the satellite to the ground station. The use of a satellite link adds significant cost and complexity to such a system, not to mention the cost of the complex electronics that must be carried on board the airborne platform.